Campaign accounts could get personal

The issue: Loophole in law gives politicians free rein with campaign donations.

Where we stand: Stricter controls are needed, but it may be too late to avoid trouble.

Whoops. State election officials have stumbled on a loophole in campaign finance laws at an inopportune moment.

Earlier this month, the Board of Elections learned that state laws prohibit candidates from using campaign donations for personal expenses, but only when they close their account after losing or retiring.

As long as the account is active, candidates can spend the money as they like.

The issue popped up this spring when state officials received a complaint that a Roanoke delegate was making improper expenditures and failing to report them. Democrat Onzlee Ware has since filed amended reports indicating that the money in question went to gas, meals, car rentals and his primary victory party.

But even if Ware had used the money to buy a fennel farm, which he didn’t, there’s little state officials could have done about it.

The Ware affair is over. The board ended its investigation this month. But the loophole lives on, raising new and worrisome questions about how it might resurface in other corners of Virginia.

Del. Phil Hamilton in Newport News, for example, is facing a state ethics inquiry and a federal grand jury investigation.

For now, he needs every penny in his war chest to get himself re-elected. But if he’s charged with a crime, his political future will be the least of his worries.

Can he lawyer up using money from his account? Apparently, the answer is yes. The delegate reported $175,000 on hand at the end of September.

State legislators have a vested interest in keeping campaign finance laws as threadbare as possible, but this loophole could cause them all embarrassment. Indeed, that could happen before they can get back to Richmond and fix the problem.